


Friendly Introductions

by TheSilverField



Series: EruMike Week 2018! [3]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Day 3, Erumike Week, Fluff, High School AU, M/M, Modern AU, and Erwin is just too sweet, junior!Mike, shy Mike is so fucking cute, sophomore!Erwin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 04:11:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13967055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSilverField/pseuds/TheSilverField
Summary: In which Mike is the shy kid, and Erwin is determined to be his friend.





	Friendly Introductions

Mike Zacharias hated the first day of school. It was noisier than all of the other days, wild and hectic, people panickedly pushing and shoving their ways to class as they weren't used to their new schedules and didn't want to be late. The hustle and bustle of the hallways as cramped and infuriating as evening traffic. Not to mention all the teachers were overly enthusiastic and always wanted their students to participate in  _friendly introductions_.

Mike was a shy, quiet kid. He didn't do that shit. It always threw the teachers for a loop when they would call on him, and he would stay silent in his seat, staring down at his desk or out the window like he couldn't bring himself to give a damn.

He really couldn't.

With his reserved nature, Mike didn't have any friends. He didn't mind, he didn't want any. Friends meant trust, and trust wasn't something the new junior was good at freely giving. Friends meant time. He would be the first to admit that he had plenty of it, but friends also meant going out and doing  _friend things_. School was exhausting enough, the social interactions leaving Mike drained and in need of a power nap, so he couldn't really see himself going out to the movies or parties on the weekend.

What was the point anyway?

Movies made high-school and making friends look so easy, so effortless. All you had to do was be fun and pretty, right? Then you could make all the forever friends you wanted, and meet the guy/girl of your dreams. All you had to do was be popular and outgoing and adventurous and high-school would be a breeze! Wrong. Friends were a distraction. The only thing Mike needed to worry about was keeping to himself, getting through his classes, and studying to ace his tests. The rest was bullshit.

At least, that's what his dad told him.

It would be nice to have someone to play Street Fighter with though...

Because of this mentality, Mike came off as the 'bad boy' type. He was honestly far from it. He slunk to the back desks because no one would pay him any mind unless they absolutely  _had_ to. He wasn't bored or disinterested, he loved to learn and listened very intently. He had to force himself to do group projects, taking his part of the work and getting it done without doing so much of the  _group_ part, but you could bet your sweet ass he wasn't doing the presentation. Reading aloud? Fuck no. Not in front of so many people. What if he misspoke and said something stupid? What if he skipped a line and the whole thing failed to make sense? What if, God forbid, someone asked him to  _speak up?_

Mike had a note excusing him from presentations. It wasn't good for his anxiety, and a panic attack wasn't good for his asthma.

Erwin Smith loved the first day of school. He loved meeting up with his friends and finding out which classes he had with whom, learning his new schedule and mapping out the best and quickest ways to make it to class early, and he absolutely  _loved_ student introductions. It helped him figure his peers out early on so picking partners for projects was much easier.

The new sophomore was the perfect student. An overachiever, a ready participant, a fucking  _boss_ at giving speeches and presentations. He always claimed the desk dead center of the front, and skyrocketed in his studies to be top of the class. He didn't kiss the ass of his teachers, but he wasn't prone to joining other students in acting out or pulling pranks either.

Erwin was not at all a shy boy. He was quiet during class, but he could be loud if he wanted when he was with his friends. Especially with Hanji during their  _riveting_ scientific discussions. He was always ready to be called on when he knew an answer to a question, always ready to step out of his comfort zone and meet new people when he didn't have any of his friends from his usual group in a class with him.

Which is what led him to the tall, blonde kid staring out the window when they had some free time at the end of class. Since it was only the first day, their teacher had only given them an overview of what to expect this year, and an outline of lesson plans to glance over. Instead of making her students stand at the front of the class and introduce themselves, she wanted her students to feel comfortable and mingle amongst themselves for the rest of the period.

Erwin walked up slowly, noticing how the older seemed to tense up when anyone stepped too close, but he didn't let that deter him from approaching. He saw dark blue eyes glance at him quickly, giving him a once over before drawing into himself once again. He realized after a moment that he had seen this boy around, but he didn't even know his name. He reminded him a lot of his friend Levi, who was also prone to sticking to the sides of the hall and the back of his classes. He was shy, Erwin understood that right away, could see it written all over his face like a novel.

That didn't mean that he had to be alone.

"Hi..." Erwin said with a soft smile, keeping his voice low and friendly. The boy glanced at him again, offering a nod in greeting. Where other people may have seen it as rude, Erwin was used to it and didn't mind in the slightest. "I'm Erwin. Do you mind telling me your name?"

Mike felt his heart speed up, the cogs and gears in his brain stuttering and smoking as he tried to think of one good reason this kid,  _Erwin,_ was speaking to him. Why was he being so nice? Why did he have to walk over here? Mike was doing fine on his own today, so why did he have to go and ruin it?

But he really hadn't ruined anything yet, had he? He was just introducing himself. He was one boy. Everyone else was in their little groups cackling like hyenas and paying them no mind. He could do this. He could speak up. He could at least tell him his name.

Mike's eyes swept across the room to make sure no one else was listening, and glanced up to meet the most stunning blue eyes he had ever seen in his life. "Mike..."

The younger's face seemed to light up at the sound of his voice, his soft smile turning into a beaming grin at the small success of earning the other's name. "It's really nice to meet you, Mike. I think this is gonna be a good year for us, don't you?"

At the tone in Erwin's voice, the excitement and kindness, and with that beautiful smile gracing an already handsome face, Mike found himself unable to look away. Unable to hide and cave in to his own anxieties. The more he looked into those gorgeous eyes, the more he realized he didn't mind Erwin walking up to him. He didn't mind his presence, or the fact that he was speaking directly to him. He didn't mind his soft voice, or his eyes diving deeply into his own.

He didn't mind the idea of becoming friends with him.

He didn't mind this friendly introduction.

Mike found his own smile, something he hadn't done in a long time. "Yeah, I guess..."


End file.
